Iraq Struggle Unfolds in Peaceful Protest and Violent Attacks in Sadr City

Students from Baghdads Sadr City district held photographs of people killed or wounded in recent fighting there, at a rally on Sunday led by Parliament members.Credit
Moises Saman for The New York Times

BAGHDAD — The latest episode in the struggle between the Shiite cleric Moktada al-Sadr and the Iraqi government unfolded Sunday on the streets of Sadr City, where members of Parliament demonstrated peacefully while clashes occurred a few blocks away.

Several hours later, Shiite militiamen in the Sadr City district took advantage of a huge dust storm that enveloped Baghdad, and kept American aircraft grounded, to fire at least a dozen mortar rounds at the Green Zone, the home of the American Embassy and of many Iraqi government officials.

The mix of peaceful protest and armed attacks is characteristic of the many levels on which the Sadr movement and the government are locked in an all-out fight for political advantage. At stake is the outcome of October provincial elections in which other Shiite parties in the government stand to lose seats to Mr. Sadr’s supporters.

However, for now, members of Parliament from several parties — with the apparent exception of some of the Shiite blocs that rival Mr. Sadr’s — seemed to be trying to transcend the fight for power and focus on the terrible living conditions for residents of Sadr City, the impoverished Shiite neighborhood where militiamen and American and Iraqi troops have fought for more than a month.

“What is different about this delegation is that it is composed of all kinds of Iraqis,” said Azzad Barbani, a member of Parliament from the Kurdistan Democratic Party. He was among 40 lawmakers who protested Sunday.

“The situation is so bad,” he said. “But from a political point of view, the solution is dialogue, without getting rid of any bloc in Parliament.”

Mustafa al-Heeti, a Sunni member of Parliament who led the delegation on Sunday, said, “We want to solve the problem peacefully.”

Mr. Heeti, of Anbar Province, said the goal of the protest was to demand an end to the fighting and the withdrawal of military forces. He added that a committee of Sadrists and other members of Parliament hoped to meet with Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki to discuss their concerns.

The residents of Sadr City “are Iraqis,” he said, “they are very poor people with very few services, and the military action has caused so much loss of life.”

Mr. Maliki has said that, before the government will stop its fight, Mr. Sadr must comply with four conditions: hand over heavy weapons; stop fighting the security forces; stop menacing government workers; and hand over outlaws sought by the government.

But on Sunday, an aide to Mr. Sadr in Najaf rejected those terms, accusing the government of trying to resolve political differences by force.

Qassim Atta, a spokesman for the government’s effort to restore order in Baghdad, the capital, told a news conference that the government had earmarked $100 million in aid for Sadr City and listed many services that the district would receive. However, it was apparent that little had arrived, primarily because the fighting made it dangerous for city service workers to venture into the worst areas, but also because government officials remained ambivalent about helping a neighborhood where their enemies lived.

Mr. Sadr’s officials, however, lost no time in reaching out to beleaguered residents. Hazim al-Araji, a member of Parliament from Mr. Sadr’s bloc, announced that Mr. Sadr’s offices would compensate families who had lost a close relative and would make payments to those who had been wounded.

While Mr. Araji did not say the exact amount that each family would get, a reporter attending a funeral in Sadr City said the family had received a half million Iraqi dinars, about $425, from an official in Mr. Sadr’s office. Seriously wounded people were said to be getting about $200 and those with minor injuries were receiving about $110. Sadr officials were also said to be paying for funerals, which include a three-day period of mourning when relatives and friends come to the home of the bereaved and must be offered food and drink.

In Nasiriya, in southern Iraq, where there has also been fighting between Mr. Sadr’s supporters and government troops, a bloc of members of Parliament representing him made a formal visit and drafted a memorandum of understanding between the sides.

At a news conference on Sunday, one of the Sadrist lawmakers, Akram Fawzi said: “The aim of this visit is to solve Nasiriya’s troubles. This is an exceptional phase, and it can be ended by cooperation between the different groups in the province.”

A car bomb killed three people in the mostly Shiite neighborhood of Shaab in northern Baghdad. Two other car bombings struck the west side of Baghdad, one in Harthiya, an affluent neighborhood, and another in Jamiya.

Mortar shells landed in three Baghdad neighborhoods, killing two people and wounding 18.

In Samarra, a car bomb killed one woman and wounded four other people, including two children, the local police said.

In Muqdadiya, in Diyala Province, a mass grave with at least 50 bodies was discovered in an orchard, officials said. Some of the bodies were badly decayed, but others appeared to have been of people executed recently.

The High Iraqi Criminal Court announced that the chief judge had dismissed four other judges. The criminal court is the new name for the court that tries people connected to former President Saddam Hussein.

“The four judges were dismissed because they had connections with Baath Party,” said Munir Haddad, the deputy chief judge of the court. “The decision was made on the 17th of April.” He added that it was in accordance with court rules that prohibit anyone with connections to the Baath Party from serving on the court.

Iraqi employees of The New York Times contributed reporting from Baghdad, Baquba, Samarra and Nasiriya.

A version of this article appears in print on , on page A6 of the New York edition with the headline: Iraq Struggle Unfolds in Peaceful Protest and Violent Attacks in Sadr City. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe